Hatoon Gul: Balochistan student starts fundraiser to retain US university’s scholarship
A student from Balochistan, Hatoon Gul started a fundraiser to retain her scholarship at one of the top-ranking universities globally.
A talented student from a small village in Balochistan, Hatoon Gul has started a fundraiser for retaining her scholarship at University of Pennsylvania for her Masters degree program.
She took to the crowdfunding platform ‘GoFundMe’ to appeal to the masses for helping her in pursuing her dream of ‘going to an Ivy League’.
She wrote, “Hailing from a small village in Balochistan, the most underdeveloped province in Pakistan, I never thought my dream of attending an Ivy League would ever come true. But I proved myself wrong a month ago when I got accepted to the University of Pennsylvania [one of top-ranking universities globally] for a Master of Science in Social Policy + Data Analytics with a 50% scholarship.”
“This is huge, considering how I can empower, inspire, and represent women in social policy making while belonging to a middle class background. Unfortunately, there are unavoidable financial challenges that might prevent me from attending UPenn.”
“The catastrophic devaluation of the rupee is not only affecting my ability to fulfill the tuition fee but also my daily life as an immigrant in the largest city of Pakistan.”
Please DM if you are interested in donating PKR, I will share the bank details there. Thank you!https://t.co/O8juxU9UGp
— Hatoon Gul (@GulHatoon) June 16, 2022
“Recently, the Prime Minister of Pakistan was ousted on a no-confidence vote partially due to the massive devaluation and robust inflation. Additionally, the Pakistani Rupee lost its value from PKR 103 to a dollar in 2017 to PKR 196 to a dollar in 2022, a loss of almost half of its value in just 5 years. As a middle-income family, we are left at the mercy of economic currents that are beyond our control.”
“With the given scholarship from UPenn, I foresee a total cost of around $65,000 (including boarding and lodging costs), leaving me with a deficit of $45,000 (based on my family’s current savings),” said Gul.
Hatoon Gul said, “I am looking to cover this deficit by taking part-time jobs, and I am hopeful that my experience with research positions will help me in that regard. If the deficit is still not covered, I would be forced to take a student loan. However, given the low salaries in Pakistan and the depreciating currency rate, it may be difficult for me to repay the loan.”
“UPenn is my dream school, and pursuing a graduate degree in Social Policy is paramount to me fulfilling my lifelong dream of uplifting marginalized women of rural Pakistan. I am the first woman from my village of fewer than 14,000 people to get into a graduate school in the US. Me attending UPenn will not only set me on a path to achieve my goals but will also inspire other girls and women in my village to pursue higher education.”
“I urge you to support me in my quest of pursuing higher education at a prestigious university,” she concluded.
